Weather the Storm
by WinterSky101
Summary: A "Leagues and Legends" fic. "Grey was on the floor, breathing shallowly, making the kind of noise only a bad Elsewhere storm or the sight of a damaged book could bring out of him." —Echoes of a Giantkiller. What exactly constitutes a "bad" Elsewhere storm?


**I finished _Remember the Dust_ and I am a changed person. This series is so amazing. If you haven't read the books yet (in which case, why are you reading my fanfics when you could be reading the books?), you can find them on E. Jade Lomax's website for free, because they are an amazing person.**

 **This takes place during _Echoes of a Giantkiller_ , between the escape from the seeress and the arrival at Bea and Bidi's. I'm aware the timeline of that journey doesn't really have space for this little fic, but let's pretend it does.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Leagues and Legends.**

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Jack didn't realize that anything was wrong with Grey until he heard a soft thump behind him. He turned quickly, not sure what he was expecting to see but certain that it wasn't good. Behind him, Grey was on the ground, curled on his side, his face screwed up in pain.

"Grey!" Jack cried, rushing to Grey's side. Rupert and Laney, who had moved a little ahead of Jack as they walked, both stopped and turned. They were hovering behind Jack in an instant.

"This is a bad one," Grey whispered breathlessly, his fingers raking furrows in the dirt. A pained whimper escaped from his clenched teeth.

"A bad what?" Jack demanded.

"It's an Elsewhere storm," Laney breathed. "Isn't it, Grey?"

Grey nodded, looking miserable. "Worst I've felt in years."

Jack whirled to face Rupert. "Do we have numb tea?"

"It was in my pack," Rupert replied, his expression tight. Rupert's pack, which they hadn't been able to take with them when they escaped the seeress. Jack cursed himself for not bringing any along himself.

"It's okay," Grey gasped out. "I'll be okay."

Jack frowned. "Without the tea-"

"Farris, the first time I had numb tea was when you gave it to me at the Academy," Grey retorted, only the barest bit of his usual fire in his voice. "I can manage."

"We should set up camp," Rupert stated, calmly taking charge. "We can't go any farther-"

"We have to keep moving." Grey's face was white with pain, and he was shaking and sweating, but his voice was firm. "We can't stay on the road."

"Grey," Jack began gently, "you're not in any state-"

"When is the best time to capture mages?" Grey spat. Jack wondered how much of the vitriol in his voice was from anger and how much was from pain. "When is the best time to catch a mage off guard?"

There was a pause for a moment, then… "During an Elsewhere storm," Rupert answered quietly.

Grey pushed himself up into a shaky sitting position. "We can't stay here," he declared, and then he threw himself forward and retched, his entire body trembling.

Jack shared a worried glance with Rupert over Grey's head. Grey was right, they couldn't stay where they were, but they couldn't go far either.

"There's a little village about a mile away," Rupert said in response to Jack's unasked question. "There's probable an inn there."

"Can you make it that far, pip?" Laney asked Grey, an uncharacteristic gentleness in her voice.

"I'll make it as far as I have go," Grey grumbled. He tried to stand and almost crumpled to the ground again before Jack grabbed him.

"Up we go, then," Jack said, pulling Grey upright gently. With anyone else, he would sling their arm around his shoulders, but if he did that to Grey, he'd leave him dangling a foot from the ground. Instead, he awkwardly held Grey half against his side and half against his chest.

"What are you all waiting for?" Grey demanded, his voice trembling slightly. Jack felt a shiver wrack his body and wished again that he'd packed numb tea in his own bag. Rupert shot Jack another look that Grey missed, and then they started to walk.

It seemed to take forever. Grey had to stop to retch a few more times, and for a while he was shaking too much to walk and Jack had to carry him. When they finally got to the inn, Jack vowed to himself that he would _always_ carry numb tea on his person, just in case.

The innkeeper shot Grey an anxious look as Rupert went to ask for a room. "What's wrong with him?" he asked warily.

"Just tired," Jack replied, glad that Grey was leaning against his shoulder instead of shaking madly or doubled over. "It's been a long couple of days, and he's just a kid."

The innkeeper's eyes flickered past all four of them, then out the window. "We won't cause any trouble," Rupert promised. "We just need a room for the night."

The innkeeper looked at Grey again, then looked back at Rupert. "I only have one room," he told him. "But it's yours if you can pay for it."

Rupert gratefully handed over the coins. Jack shook Grey gently, trying to look like he was rousing him from a doze. "C'mon," he urged. "Let's go upstairs, and you can sleep in a real bed."

Grey grumbled, but he got to his feet with a bit of help and staggered to the stairs. He had to pause halfway up, an arm wrapped around his middle like he was trying to keep his body from ripping apart, but he made it upstairs. Jack hoped the storm was lessening.

"You feeling any better, pip?" Laney asked when they got to the room.

Grey groaned. "The storm's not getting any worse, so that's something," he grumbled.

"Let's get you into bed," Jack told him gently, guiding him inside.

Grey frowned. "There's only two beds."

"Nice to know you can still count," Laney replied dryly.

"I can take the floor," Grey offered. "I don't need a bed."

Rupert frowned. "Grey-"

"Not like I'll be any more comfortable either way," Grey added.

"Just take the bed, Grey," Jack urged.

Grey scowled, but he doubled over again before he could say anything else. Jack caught him before his knees could give out.

"Listen, Grey," Rupert urged when the pain seemed to have faded back to more manageable levels. "Jack's not going to leave your side until this is over, we both know that. And either Laney or I need to keep watch, because you know Jack can get distracted when one of us is hurt. So you get one bed, Jack will stay with you, and Laney and I will take turns with the other one."

"Fine," Grey muttered. Jack wondered whether Rupert had actually gotten through to him or if he was just too wiped out to argue the point any more. He allowed himself to be maneuvered onto the bed, where he immediately curled onto his side and wrapped his arms around his torso.

"He'll be alright," Rupert told Jack quietly. "Elsewhere storms pass."

"Doesn't mean they don't hurt when they hit," Jack retorted. He shook his head. "I don't like seeing him quiet."

"It's weird," Laney agreed. "I almost miss hearing him go on about the mating behaviors of exotic birds."

"The _Pharomachrus mocinno_ ," Grey began, his voice just barely shaking, "normally lives alone, except when it's time for breeding, which is different depending on where it lives. They lay their eggs in decomposed trees, but the tree has to be just decomposed enough to be right. You can tell the size of the population by looking at the amount of decomposed trees there are in the area."

Laney snorted. "That wasn't an invitation, pip."

"Try to get some sleep, Grey," Jack urged.

Grey made a disbelieving noise. "You try sleeping when something is pulling on your internal organs," he retorted, but his eyes drifted shut regardless.

"I'll go get some food," Laney said, slipping out of the room.

"And I'm going to see if I can find a few other supplies we need," Rupert added, following her.

"It seems we've been left alone," Jack remarked.

"Don't ravish me, Farris," Grey joked weakly.

"Don't worry," Jack replied, sitting on the edge of the bed and rubbing Grey's back gently. "You're not my type."

"You say as you get into bed with me," Grey muttered, but his eyes drifted closed again. Jack had no idea if it was helping or not, but he kept rubbing Grey's back, the rhythmic motion centering him better than anything else could.

Rupert and Laney were quiet when they came back into the room. Jack had no idea if Grey was asleep or not, but he knew they were being quiet so as not to disturb him. Whether it was necessary or not, it was a nice gesture. Laney ate quietly and then curled up on the empty bed while Rupert kept watch.

Jack might have drifted off at one point, but he was definitely awake when the tension slowly leaked out of Grey's body. Grey let out a sigh and shifted a bit on the bed. Jack realized he was still rubbing his back - he'd been doing it for a long time, if the soreness in his arm was anything to go by - and stopped.

"Is it over?" Rupert asked quietly. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, their new supplies strewn around him as he packed them into Jack's bag.

"I think so," Jack replied. "I don't want that to ever happen again."

"Are there any places we can get numb tea here?" Rupert asked. "There must be some sort of black market."

"I think there is, but I don't know the details." Jack knew who would, though. "I might be able to find someone who could tell us about it."

"Someone trustworthy?" Rupert confirmed.

"Yes," Jack replied simply.

Rupert nodded. "Then we should get some. We can't get caught off-guard again."

Jack looked out the window with a sigh. "How many mages do you think they got today?" he asked quietly. "You can hide magic, to an extent, but you can't hide Elsewhere sickness. Not if people know what they're looking for."

"They need to be stopped," Rupert said quietly.

"People have been trying to do that for a long time," Jack warned.

The smile on Rupert's face was dangerous. Jack wondered how he'd ever thought Rupert was just a blue-blooded paper-pusher. "Then I guess we should help them."

Grey made another soft sound in his sleep. Jack knew what he sounded like when he had nightmares and wondered how many of those nightmares were about the fate he'd narrowly escaped in the mountains.

"Yeah," he agreed softly, "I guess we should."


End file.
